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I'd entered this event before I left for our tandem cycle tour in the Highlands and Islands.  In my experience, tandem touring's reasonably good endurance training, but does damn all for one's time trialling speed.  And so it proved! A pretty good morning - warm but slightly misty.  When we got to Tempsford there was not much in the way of wind, but a very gentle breeze sprung up later, offering some return assistance from the turn.  There had been a last minute change from the F1/25 course to the F1B/25 (see map below)  It didn't do much to alleviate my suffering on the drags that characterise the southern end of the course!  From the start I felt a bit slow, as if something was dragging on the bike.  Hopefully I'll regain some speed in time for next weekend's '50'. I finished with 58:55, which was at least a minute slower than I'd have hoped for.   When I left the race HQ, the fastest time on the board was Jason Gurney's very excellent 52:51, but Ian Cammish and Sam Barker were yet to finish.  My club mate Tony Parks did a short 55.
View Hitchin Nomads '25' in a larger map

As reported over the last few days (Cyclist Alejandro Valverde banned two years for doping - USATODAY.com; Valverde suspended for two years world-wide, keeps results - Cyclingnews.com), Alejandro Valverde, aka Valv. (Piti) has been banned for two years effective 1/1/10 over the Operacion Puerto blood doping affair.  Not before time.  As I've said before, the ridiculous length of time it's taken to deal with the fallout of the Fuentes blood-doping ring has been bad for justice, not just for those who have been punished, and for those accused (mistakenly or otherwise) but for the non-dopers whose careers will have been affected by those who've doped. Of course, the Valverde supporters are now out.  Valverde's team mate Guitierrez has written an open letter (see Gutiérrez responds to Valverde ban - Cyclingnews.com) in which it would seem he takes the usual head in the sand approach to doping issues.  Let's not forget, there's DNA evidence that the blood bags labelled Valv. (Piti) did contain Valverde's blood. The bigger injustice is that the remaining cyclists involved in the Fuentes blood doping ring have not so far been punished.  And that other sports seem to have gone silent.

22 miles An easy day, as we cycled down to the Craignure ferry terminal to return to Oban. We had shelved plans to cycle round the north of Mull, spending a second night in Tobermory partly because of the difficulty in finding accommodation, and partly because of the weather forecast. In the event, this was probably a good decision, as the cloud was very low, and for much of the morning we h drizzly showers. The first half of the day's cycling, as far as Salen, was quite tough with many climbs on singletrack road, made harder by vying with motor traffic while avoiding potholes. After Salen, the road's wider and flatter. Not much to report, with the only notable nature points being a pair of seals who took a great deal of interest watching us watching them watch us watch them... The ferry crossing to Oban is quite quick, taking only 45 minutes. Then we had to tackle the hurlyburly of Oban traffic (a bit of a shock after the last few days of relatively quiet roads) as we returned to pick up the car.
View 2010 Tour Day 9 Tobermory to Oban in a larger map

32 miles (but the hardest miles of the trip!) Today was the best weather of the trip so far, and we spent the cycling the length of Ardnamurchan. The eastern part of Ardnaurchan has some of the most glorious native broadleaf woodland - and is pretty tough cycling as the road rises and dips repeatedly from the shores of Loch Sunart. We stopped to talk to a couple of girls packing up camp to head back to Glasgow (train from Fort William), then carried on, to stop at a tearoom/wildlife centre with an RSPB person - tea and icecream, enlivened by the aerobatic antics of swallows. Shortly after, the landscape becomes quite bare, and the road climbs up - a long but steady climb that eventually descends to Kilchoan. In this section we saw numerous red deer. From Kilchoan we rode onwards to visit Ardnamurchan Point, which is the westernmost place on the mainland. This was 6 of the toughest miles of the trip, and we still had to ride back to Kilchoan! After walking up to the lighthouse, we rode back down the road a short distance and stopped to heat up some lunch. Checking our watches, we wondered whether we'd make the 15.15 ferry from Kilchoan to Tobermory. In the event the ferry men saw us whizzing down to the ferry and waited for us! The crossing was terrific, warm enough to sit outdoors. Once in Tobermory, we finally found a B&B - most had no vacancies (something of a pattern on this trip). This involved cycling the loaded tandem up some of the steepest streets we've ever ridden up. After a hot shower, we wandered around Tobermory, stopping for scallops and chips and then a beer.
View 2010 Tour Day 8 - Salen to Tobermory in a larger map